Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, Christine Donohue ’74, to Deliver Keynote Address for ESU Undergraduate Commencement Ceremonies

Christine Donohue ’74 will be the keynote speaker for East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s two undergraduate commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 10 in Koehler Fieldhouse.

Justice Christine Donohue serves on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Her term of office commenced in January 2016. Prior to her service as a Supreme Court Justice, Justice Donohue served on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania for eight years.

She was born in Schuykill County and was raised in Lansford in Carbon County. She attended Marian High School in Hometown, Pa. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from East Stroudsburg University, she moved to the Shamokin area in Northumberland County and was employed by SEDA-Council of Governments in Lewisburg as an environmental project coordinator for two years. Justice Donohue moved to Pittsburgh to attend the Duquesne University School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctor degree and served on the Duquesne Law Review.

As a lawyer, Justice Donohue was a civil trial lawyer. She was a shareholder in the law firm, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C. in its civil litigation department. While in practice, she held the AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, she was listed in Best Lawyers in America, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and the Top 50 Attorneys in Pittsburgh. She is an elected Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and the American Board of Trial Advocates. She is a past president of the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association.

Justice Donohue is a former judge on the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, a former chair and member of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners and the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, and a former member of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Justice Donohue is a member of the American, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations. She served on the Board of Governors of the Allegheny County Bar Association and was also the Chair of its Young Lawyers Division. She is a member of the American Bar Foundation and a charter member of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She served as a member of the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She was twice recognized in Pennsylvania Law Weekly as one of Pennsylvania’s “Women Leaders in the Legal Profession.” Justice Donohue received the Distinguished Alumni Award from East Stroudsburg University in 2016. She received the 2023 Woman of the Year Award from the Duquesne University Thomas R. Kline School of Law Women’s Law Association and the Amen Corner’s 2023 Judge Robert E. Dauer Award For Judicial Leadership & Excellence. She is the 2025 recipient of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession Anne X. Alpern Award.

Justice Donohue spearheaded an effort by trial judges and lawyers to afford young lawyers opportunities to gain courtroom experience, especially presenting cases to civil juries. Bar groups developed a program known as Project LITIGATE encouraging law firms to take a pledge to give young lawyers opportunities to develop litigation skills in the courtroom while the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges endorsed Project LITIGATE and adopted a set of best practices for involving less experienced lawyers in civil jury cases and established a Project LITIGATE taskforce.

Justice Donohue taught ethics for attorneys at the Duquesne University School of Law. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Hill House Association, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, Turtle Creek Valley Mental Health/Mental Retardation, Inc. and the National Aviary of Pittsburgh. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Duquesne University School of Law and is a frequent lecturer at seminars on the topics of appellate practice and judicial ethics.

Justice Donohue’s chambers are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She resides in the city of Pittsburgh.

The ceremony awarding bachelor’s degrees from ESU’s College of Health Sciences and College of Business and Management will begin at 8:45 a.m. The ceremony awarding bachelor’s degrees from ESU’s College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education will begin at 1:45 p.m.

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